Lake Geneva’s belle epoque paddle boats attacked by pirates

On Sunday 24 May 2015 around 10,000 people turned up in the village of Rolle on the shore of Lake Geneva, Switzerland to see a parade of the world’s largest fleet of operating paddle boats. This was the 20th parade of these beautiful boats. Six boats, all from the early 20th century, took part: Montreux (1904); Vevey (1907); Savoie (1914); Simplon (1920); Rhône (1927); La Suisse (1910). When La Suisse (pictured below) went into service in 1910 it was the largest steamship in Switzerland. Today it is considered the fleet’s lead ship or bateau amiral.